Friday, November 6, 2015

Marijuana use a human right, Mexican Supreme Court rules

November 5, 2015 - "By four votes to one, the court’s first chamber approved the cultivation, processing and possession of cannabis for personal use. However, the ruling will only apply to four activists – Josefina Ricaño Vàndala, Armando Santacruz González, José Pablo Girault and Juan Francisco Torres Landa Ruffo – who challenged the law by applying to set up a marijuana club in 2013 for recreational, non-commercial use....

"'The ruling will only apply to the persons it protects – the resolution of the first chamber does not legalize the supply or sale [of cannabis],' said Humberto Castellejos, legal counsel in the office of the president. 'Growing it with any other objective, even for recreation, is a crime according to the law.'

"Nevertheless, campaigners for legalization including the four activists who challenged the law, are optimistic that the ruling will pave the way for an eventual dismantling of Mexico’s strict marijuana laws....

"The ruling is the first of its kind and establishes a precedent for similar cases in future. Four more like it would establish jurisprudence and require the federal government to change Mexico’s cannabis laws.

"Another legalization campaigner, Hector Aguilar Camín, also welcomed the ruling. 'This is a watershed decision; we have to start separating the substance from the hell produced by its persecution,' he said in reference to Mexico’s drug wars, which have killed thousands of people.

"'Our objective was always to change drug policy in this country, which is one of the main motors for the violence, corruption and the violation of human rights in Mexico,' said Santacruz Gonzàlez.

"Mexican law permits possession of up to five grams of cannabis, but activists say this is a halfway measure as few users buy such small amounts....

Supreme Court Judge Arturo Zaldivar, who proposed the ruling, based his argument on the human right to 'personal development' and recreation that did not harm others."